Need back seat removal help please!

[grhouse]

I've removed my back seat and taken the bolts out of the bottom of the seat back but I cannot get the seat back to come out. I've tried lifting it straight up and tried tilting it up and then lifting. Nothing has worked so far.

There is probably an easy solution but I need it out before I can do some welding to the fender/body connection point.

Thanks in advance,

Gene

[keiser31]

I've removed my back seat and taken the bolts out of the bottom of the seat back but I cannot get the seat back to come out. I've tried lifting it straight up and tried tilting it up and then lifting. Nothing has worked so far.

There is probably an easy solution but I need it out before I can do some welding to the fender/body connection point.

Thanks in advance,

Gene

Have you looked inside the trunk to see if there are any bolts there holding the seat back in?

[grhouse]

I hope not because the trunk is locked! While I was waiting for the police to come to the DMV I looked at the key in my hand and wondered if the trunk key was the correct one and if so if it would turn the trunk lock. Well, it did turn and has been locked ever since. That is another reason I need to get the back of the seat off. I've got to take the lock off and take it to a locksmith to be fixed. I've tried some WD40 on it and even some Blaster but it simply refuses to turn. I'm thinking that I've got the wrong key because it does not fit the glove box. It just was able to lock the trunk but some strange twist of unkind fate.

Gene

[huptoy]

The question is what year and model are you referencing? You should get help from a knowledgeable person for your car.

I took an old car door lock to a lock smith and he created a key with out opening the lock.

He placed something on the key blank and inserted it into the lock. He then used a hand held key punch & file to create the key.

[grhouse]

I'm sorry! I thought I had stated that it is a 1936 FC Standard Coach. It was manufactured in the later part of the year after the switch to metal for the doors.

[Guest Bob Call]

This car like most GM's of the late 30's, 40's and 50's probably has Briggs & Stratton lock cylinders. The keys were know as B10's. As ther are only 4 pins in the lock the number of combinations is limited. Back in the day most repair shops and locksmiths had a box full of these keys. Grab a handfull and chances are one in the handfull would fit your car. Usually the ignition and glove box had one key and the doors and trunk had another key. A good locksmith should be able to make you a key for the trunk if you can drive the car to their shop. I would suggest that you have the locksmith to change pins in the cylinders so one key will fit all of them.

[Guest 36chev]

Hello,

I don't know if can be of much help but I have this exact type of car.

Removing the seat back will be problematic from the interior. It is screwed onto a wooden framework from inside the trunk-the wood screws are inside the trunk. And the hinges (on top of the trunk) are screwed on from inside the trunk as well! For those not familiar with the 36 Chevrolet, it has a "humpback" trunk with two exterior hinges on the top and a central handle/lock at the bottom of the trunk.

Now that I think about it, perhaps the cardboard parcel shelf in the back window will come out--although you may have to tear it up to do so. If so, you might be able to gain access that way. There are large slotted wood screws (again, if remembering correctly) that attached from the inside of the trunk. Even if you get the parcel shelf out of the way, it may be pretty hard to get to the screws.

Even though most of the wood had been done away with in these cars, there was still wood in this location. My 36 is also a later car with metal doors.

Hope this helps and I'll take a look at my car this weekend and provide an update.

Best of luck!

Edited August 26, 2011 by 36chev (see edit history)

[grhouse]

That is exactly what I was afraid of. I guess I'll have to see how good my lock-picking skills are these days. My guess is that when I locked it the tumblers just hit the right spot and the key is so worn down that the tips are not quite high enough to push the pins up and out of the way. I'll have to ponder this; or get a locksmith! I do have the shelf partially up put do not want to tear it up either since the interior is original to the car.

Thanks a lot,

Gene